I'll Be Okay
by angel of moozik
Summary: Her best friend and her boyfriend. Will she ever be happy about it? Parvati/Ron oneshot. Lavender's POV.


She remembered the first time it happened. It had only been a few weeks since she and Ron had split up, and only a few _days _since Parvati had dumped Dean. Lavender had left everyone to go bed early because she couldn't bear to be around Ron, but had woken up when she'd heard two sets of footsteps coming up the stairs. She looked round to check Hermione was still asleep; no one had told her they'd worked out a way of getting boys into the dorm in case she told McGonagall. When she peeked out of the gap in her curtains and saw who it was, she wished Hermione _had_ woken up and got them in trouble. Her best friend and her ex-boyfriend. And Parvati hardly ever remembered to cast the silencio charm when she was caught up in the moment with whatever boy she was with. Lavender could normally block the noises out, but this was different.

She didn't get any sleep that night. She spent all night trying to understand it. She knew Parvati was gorgeous and could get any boy she wanted, and she knew Ron didn't feel anything for her, even if she still loved him, but she thought they'd at least take a minute to think what they'd be doing to their friend in the next bed. Upset, she sank back into her pillows and tried not to think about it anymore.

She must've managed to drift off to sleep, even if it didn't feel like she'd had any, because her bedclothes were ripped off her the next morning by an annoyed Hermione, telling her to get down to Potions quickly, otherwise Snape would take points off. Hermione was the only one in the year who still cared about whether they won the House Cup. She looked over at Parvati's bed. Only Parvati was there. Maybe she'd dreamt it all. It couldn't have really happened, surely.

She sat down next to Harry in Potions, taking care to ignore Hermione who was giving her her patented why-are-you-late-look.

"Hey, Lav?" he whispered as Snape started writing a list of ingredients, "have you spoken to Parvati this morning at all?"

"No," she said, not liking where the conversation was going. "Why?"

"Ron crept back into our dorm at 7 this morning. I thought he'd got together with Hermione, finally, but she knew nothing about it. She's quite upset. Was he with you?"

"No," Lavender whispered. "He was with Parvati."

Harry stared at her and Lavender could feel the tears welling up and her throat constricting. Why did she care? She was just getting over him, or at least she thought she was.

"Miss Brown, I haven't even done anything to make you cry yet," Snape said, coming to stand in front of her. "Please control yourself."

"Parvati?" Harry whispered, as Snape turned his back on them again. "Really?"

"I saw them," she said. "Professor Snape, I need to go to the hospital wing. I'm not feeling well."

Snape begrudgingly let Lavender go, and she set off to find her friend. How could they be so thoughtless? They'd managed to upset Hermione too. Hermione, who was supposed to be one of Ron's best friends. Why were they doing this?

"Parvati," she said, standing over her friend's bed.

"I don't have a class til 10 Lav. Leave me alone," she mumbled.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Are you tired?" she asked sweetly.

"I've been tired all year," she laughed.

"Has Ron been in your bed all year then?" Lavender asked sharply.

Parvati's eyes shot open and she rolled over to look at her friend.

"Yes, you were pretty loud coming in."

"I'm sorry Lav," she babbled. "We didn't plan it, and it was just a one-off thing. I'm so so so sorry."

Lavender smiled and nodded at her friend. "Ok."

...

That night Lavender went to bed feeling much happier. That was, until she heard a gasp coming from the bed next to her, and then a moan. She recognised both sets of voices, and she knew what was going on.

"So much for it being a one-off thing," she muttered to herself, casting charms around her own bed to block out the noises. She still couldn't sleep though; just the thought of what was happening was enough to keep her awake.

...

The next morning, a sleep-deprived Lavender rolled out of bed and into transfiguration. She sat herself between Ron and Parvati, who didn't seem to realise she knew what had happened the night before.

"Are you ok?" Parvati asked her friend worriedly. "You look like death."

"I'm fine. I just had trouble sleeping," Lavender said pointedly, although neither of them seemed to notice.

The lesson was the longest hour of Lavender's life. She couldn't decide how to act around them. She tried to be normal, but little snappy comments just kept slipping out. She couldn't help it. McGonagall wasn't too happy either; the feather Lavender was meant to be transfiguring into a bird bit her teacher when she came to check her work.

As soon as the lesson was over, Lavender stalked out of the class. Someone came running up behind her and grabbed her by the shoulders.

"What is wrong with you today, Lav?" Parvati snapped.

Lavender tried to pull away from her friend's grip, but she was too strong.

"No, tell me, please," she insisted. "Why are you being such a bitch?"

"Because you forgot to cast the silencio charm last night and I heard everything," she replied shortly.

Parvati let go of Lavender's shoulders and clapped her hands to her mouth.

"Just tell me," Lavender said, "do you really like him, or is this another of your flings?"

Parvati nodded. "Yes, I do like him, and he says he really likes me too."

Lavender said nothing, but stared at the floor, trying not to cry.

"Please say something," Parvati said, holding her friend's shoulder, but more gently this time.

"I don't know what to say, or how I should feel," Lavender babbled. "I love you both to pieces, and I really want to see you both happy, or at least I know I should do. It just hurts to see you together, when you know I still love him and you're my best friend."

"I'm sorry," Parvati said gently. "I just like him so much. Are you ok?"

"No, but I will be," Lavender said, forcing a smile. "I want to be."

...

Months later, Lavender was woken up by two sets of footsteps coming up the stairs again. Neither of them remembered to cast the charm, as usual, so Lavender did it for them, leaving a note pinned to the curtains of her friends' bed, saying, "you're welcome." She lay back in her bed and smiled to herself. Yes, she still loved him just the tiniest bit, but she had him as a friend now thanks to this, and she was happy with that. She closed her eyes, and did something she never thought would be possible with what was going on in the next bed: she drifted off into a peaceful sleep.


End file.
